They returned to England—to the mummy world—and reappeared inside the grand hall of his mansion.
The air shifted as the portal closed behind them.
The first thing Daniel noticed was the smell.
Alcohol.
Then the sight.
Three figures were sprawled across the polished marble floor, surrounded by empty bottles and overturned glasses. One was snoring against the base of a sofa. Another lay flat on his back, arm thrown over his face. The third had somehow fallen halfway under a table.
Ronnie.
Art.
And, of course, his brother-in-law, Jonathan.
Daniel stood still for a long second.
"I told them to take care of my house while I was gone," he said flatly, staring at Jonathan. "Not to turn it into a tavern."
He stepped forward and nudged Ronnie with his shoe.
No response.
He kicked him harder.
Ronnie jerked awake, blinking blearily. "Get out… tavern's closed…"
Daniel leaned down slightly. "Your employer is here. Unless you'd like to be hung upside down from the chandelier, I suggest you regain consciousness."
Ronnie froze.
Then he blinked again—this time properly focusing.
"…Boss?"
Art groaned and rolled onto his side. Jonathan muttered something incoherent about lost treasure and another round.
Daniel looked at the disaster of his hall.
"…Explain," he said calmly.
Ronnie gulped and kicked Art to wake up Art slowly woke up and saw his monster boss return.
"Boss—when did you get back?" Art asked, scrambling to his feet and nearly slipping on a bottle.
Daniel did not raise his voice.
"You have one hour to clean this entire hall," he said evenly. "Or I will use your bodies as mops and do it myself."
That was not a metaphor.
Ronnie sobered instantly. "On it, boss."
Both men sprang into motion, grabbing bottles and cloths and tripping over each other in their haste to disappear from his direct line of sight.
Daniel turned toward Evelyn. "Would you like to deal with your brother?"
Evelyn's smile did not reach her eyes. "Gladly."
She walked into the kitchen and returned with a full jug of water.
Jonathan was still half-conscious, muttering something about "buried gold" and "deserving compensation."
Without ceremony, Evelyn dumped the entire jug over his head.
Jonathan sputtered upright, hair plastered to his face. "Why is it raining inside the house?"
He blinked through the water and focused.
"Evy?" His expression brightened foolishly. "My dear sister!"
"How much did you drink?" Evelyn asked flatly.
"I didn't drink anything," Jonathan said with complete confidence.
Daniel glanced at the bottles scattered across the floor.
"Remarkable," he said dryly. "The alcohol must have leapt into your bloodstream by itself."
Jonathan looked around slowly at the wreckage.
"…Ah," he muttered. "That explains the floor."
He staggered upright, swaying slightly—then froze.
His eyes landed on Tamara.
He blinked once.
Twice.
"…There's a new one," he said faintly.
Then his expression shifted dramatically, as though he had just uncovered a personal tragedy of epic proportions.
He turned to Evelyn, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her into an exaggerated hug.
"My dear sister," he declared in a wobbling voice, "your life is cruel. You married a man who keeps bringing home women. It must be so hard for you."
He sniffed loudly for emphasis.
Elizabeth pressed her lips together, clearly enjoying this far more than she should.
Tamara watched in silence, completely lost. Human emotional displays clearly did not follow a logical structure.
Jonathan continued, voice breaking theatrically, "But as your brother, I can do nothing. He has money. He gives me drink. He even gave me youth."
He straightened slightly and looked vaguely proud of that last point.
Elizabeth coughed softly to hide a smile.
Tamara leaned slightly toward Daniel. "Is he wounded?"
Lacking any real understanding of human behavior, she couldn't make sense of what she was seeing.
"No," Daniel replied calmly. "He's just too drunk."
Evelyn gently but firmly pushed Jonathan away.
"I am not suffering, Jonathan," she said flatly. "If anything, you are the one constantly causing trouble."
Jonathan blinked at Evelyn, still trying to piece together reality.
Daniel waved a hand dismissively. "Ignore him. He'll regain his senses by the end of the day. Or at least enough of them to function."
He started toward the stairs, already done with the scene.
"I'm going to rest. You ladies can do whatever you want."
He paused just long enough to glance at Tamara.
"And you—no eating humans."
Tamara narrowed her eyes but said nothing. She was no longer the immediate threat she had been when dragged from the sea, yet there was still something untamed about her. Not dangerous to Evelyn or Elizabeth, but certainly not domesticated either.
Daniel continued up the stairs without waiting for a reply.
Jonathan watched him go, then leaned toward Evelyn and whispered hoarsely, "You see? That's exactly how villains behave."
Evelyn sighed. "Go drink water, Jonathan."
Tamara tilted her head slightly, studying them all as if humans were still the stranger species.
*****
A/N: If you'd like to read ahead of the Webnovel release schedule, you can join my Patreon!
The Patreon version is 30 chapters ahead.
👉 patreon.com/Universal_Peace